Arlo Parks — Ambiguous Desire
There isn’t anything ambiguous about the quality of the music.
English singer-songwriter Arlo Parks gained prominence in 2021 through her well-acclaimed debut LP, Collapsed In Sunbeams, establishing herself with a soft, dreamy alt-pop sound. Five years later, with the arrival of her third LP, Ambiguous Desire, released April 3rd via Transgressive Records, Parks has stayed true to some of the core tenets of her previous music, but nonetheless presents a brand-new sonic reimagination of it.
The key difference is that Ambiguous Desire is much more synthy and groove-focused, feeling less like music for a pensive walk in a park and more like the soundtrack to a slightly haunting nocturnal dance party. The ethereal, brilliantly executed production, with some really beautiful shimmering, colorful musical textures, as well as Arlo Parks’ soft, silky vocal delivery, contrast in a very interesting way with the up-tempo, choppy percussions and, in the cases of songs such as “Heaven” or “2SIDED”, pulsing bass lines. The mixed atmosphere adds uniqueness to the project, making it a more interesting and diverse listening experience. The sole feature, coming from fellow UK-born singer-songwriter Sampha on “Senses”, is incredibly silky, and perfectly complements what is arguably the main highlight track of the album.
The project has a real mesmerizing quality to it, capturing the listener from the opening seconds of the first track, and another of the album’s highlights, “Blue Disco”, and keeping things engaging right until the last of the great drum outro on the final song, “Floette”, sounds. This outro caps off a generally brilliant body of drum work throughout the project, with just enough variety to the percussion to create variety without losing the connection between tracks. The short, gentle, drumless “South Seconds” in the middle of the tracklist provides a great breather, gearing up the listener for the second half.
The lyricism is quite poetic, even while not being particularly complex; the imagery is mostly quite straightforward, but is constructed very well. When it comes to an album with this soundscape, it’s not hard in any case to let the lyrics fade out of consciousness as you sink into the instrumentals — and Arlo Parks does enough with the writing to let it melt into the music in the best possible way, playing well into the central theme of ambivalence.
Overall, Ambiguous Desire, while far from revolutionary, is an interesting step in a somewhat new direction for Arlo Parks. It builds and expands on her previous work in compelling ways, doing well at bringing more energy while still keeping a lot of her smoothness and subtlety. The production is gorgeous, with no end of small, but significant layers to discover on subsequent listens. It’s an album of perfect balances – well-suited to both active and passive listens, perfectly cohesive without blending together too much, delicate without forcing excessive vulnerability thematically.
7.6/10
